UK News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

New plans to redraw Westminster map of UK unveiled next week - after 11 years and £14m

2 Jun 2021

New plans to change MPs’ seat boundaries will finally be unveiled on Tuesday after Tory ministers wasted £14million on two failed shake-ups.

The Boundary Commission for England will publish its initial plans to redraw the Westminster map for the first time since 2010 - after ministers binned off years of work they did in 2013 and 2018.

This time the final recommendations will take force automatically, unless ministers kill them off with an Act of Parliament.

But the changes will only come into effect in late 2023 - which will be too late for the next election if Boris Johnson decides to call it early.

The review is designed to end the unfairness of some MPs having only 50,000 constituents while others are shared by 100,000.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... p-24236079

[weatheriscool]

Tens of Thousands of British People In Europe Could Soon Become 'Undocumented Migrants' Thanks To Br
Source: Business Insider

Up to 100,000 British citizens living in mainland Europe have less than a month to apply for permanent residency on the continent or risk becoming unauthorized immigrants with the threat of lost rights or deportation.

Under post-Brexit rules, UK citizens who live in countries including France, Malta, and Luxembourg are required to apply for residency by June 30 or risk losing basic rights. But tens of thousands living abroad have still not applied, leading to concerns that those affected could lose access to services such as healthcare as a result of their new status.

"We are now less than a month before our deadline, and people just do not know what the consequences will be -- they don't know exactly how their lives will be impacted," Kalba Meadows, a resident in France who cofounded the citizens-rights group France Rights, told Insider.

"If they haven't applied before the deadline and they aren't due to have reasonable grounds for a late application, they're going to become undocumented migrants. "What the actual consequences of that will be we don't know, but it is highly likely that they will lose access to healthcare. That has serious consequences, especially for the elderly and vulnerable."...

Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/brexit- ... nts-2021-6

[Time_Traveller]

Sky News research finds quarter of controversial statues removed, due to be removed or under review since Edward Colston monument toppled

Sunday 6 June 2021

A quarter of contentious statues have been removed, will be removed or are under review since the Edward Colston monument was toppled last year, according to Sky News research.

Reviewing the statues includes consulting members of the public and gathering views from panellists from across art and culture.

Sky News contacted 44 councils in England, Wales and Scotland who share 84 controversial statues between them. All have been condemned for their ties to slavery and colonialism.

Of the 84 statues, 21 have been removed, are due to be removed or are under review since the statue of slave trader Colston was pulled down in Bristol last year.

https://news.sky.com/story/sky-news-res ... d-12326278

[Ozzie guy]

The BBC is truly amazing they have produced some of my favourite comedy and I imagine they are doing so on a tight budget with actors and staff who haven't yet hit fame. Comedy of course isn't even the TV stations main thing.

[Time_Traveller]

Raise age for sale of cigarettes to 21 and stop ‘tobacco epidemic’, say UK MPs

Wed 9 Jun 2021

MPs have called for a consultation on raising the age for the sale of cigarettes to 21 from 18 in order to end the “tobacco epidemic” by 2030.

The all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health has recommended raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 as part of tougher tobacco regulations to protect children and young people from becoming smokers and help smokers quit.

The recommendations, backed by health charities and medical organisations, also include a “polluter pays” amendment to the health and social care bill to secure funding for a tobacco control programme, forcing manufacturers to pay to deliver the end of smoking.

The cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned the government that it can only build back “better and fairer” from the pandemic by making smoking obsolete and must commit now to the actions needed to secure its vision of a Smokefree 2030.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... -to-21-mps

If it rose to 21, we would join countries like the US and India. Here is also a link to show what countries have a 18 and 21 years of age to smoke. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_age#Europe

[wjfox]

[Yuli Ban]

One in three Brits preferring isolation to seeing friends and family, You Gov survey finds

A
third of Brits are choosing to “stay at home” and have no social contact despite lockdown restrictions easing for summer, a YouGov poll has found.

Asked how many days people had set aside at least an hour to socialise it was revealed that 33 per cent of Brits are still choosing to avoid social contact altogether.

Not going to lie... that's the most British thing I've read in some time.

[Time_Traveller]

Is Sunak trying to make the city of London, the tax haven capital of Europe?

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Boris Johnson and Joe Biden set to agree 'new Atlantic Charter' ahead of G7 meeting

10 June 2021

Boris Johnson and Joe Biden will set out their joint vision for a "sustainable global recovery" from the coronavirus pandemic when they meet ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.

Holding their first face-to-face talks on Thursday, the leaders are expected to agree what has been billed as a new Atlantic Charter - a reference to the declaration of post-war cooperation between Winston Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1941.

According to Downing Street, the meeting will focus on climate change, security, the global trading system and defending democracy, as well as efforts to coordinate how transatlantic travel can resume safely.

https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnso ... t-12328896